This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the presently described embodiments. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present embodiments. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
In order to meet consumer and industrial demand for natural resources, companies often invest significant amounts of time and money in finding and extracting oil, natural gas, and other subterranean resources from the earth. Particularly, once a desired subterranean resource such as oil or natural gas is discovered, drilling and production systems are often employed to access and extract the resource. These systems may be located onshore or offshore depending on the location of a desired resource. Further, such systems generally include a wellhead assembly mounted on a well through which the resource is accessed or extracted. These wellhead assemblies may include a wide variety of components, such as various casings, valves, pumps, fluid conduits, and the like, that control drilling or extraction operations.
As will be appreciated, drilling and production operations employ fluids referred to as mud or drilling fluids to provide lubrication and cooling of the drill bit, clear away cuttings, and maintain desired hydrostatic pressure during operations. Mud can include all types of water-based, oil-based, or synthetic-based drilling fluids. Mud pumps can be used to move large quantities of mud from surface tanks, down thousands of feet of drill pipe, out nozzles in the bit, back up the annulus, and back to the tanks. Operations come to a halt if the mud pumps fail, and thus, reliability under harsh conditions, using all types of abrasive fluids, is of utmost commercial interest.